Bombardment II: A Chance and a Challenge
by Butch
Summary: A greater evil arises. Is it too much for our heroes or will a misplaced legend be their only hope? (Note, deus ex machina often used and geography of Pennsylvania and Maryland a little messed up)
1. The Giant Appears

The Giant Appears

The Giant Appears 

Wheeljack knelt. His instruments were giving off readings that didn't make sense in relation to Megatron's destruction. The energy had completely disappeared, like it had been instantly converted elsewhere. According to thermodynamics, the energy would have had to go into heat. Yet Wheeljack's data was such that the energy of the explosion no longer existed no temperature change was recorded in the area of the blast, _and his measurements indicated that even with no heat created, energy had still been conserved._ He was puzzled. He turned his sensors to find sources of energy that were not present during the battle. And then he found it, a huge mammoth energy supply greater than anything he had seen. And it was mobile. Wheeljack checked its movements. According to his calculations, the source would reach them in about two minutes. He looked up. In the distance he could see it. It was like a robot, but of unimaginable height. Wheeljack wondered if anyone else saw it. The creature was gargantuan. He appeared to be as large as a planet. Wheeljack quickly knew that he was no larger than half the being's hand. The Gundams would only be slightly larger. The robot walked slowly toward them. Evidently it had no idea where it was or who anyone was.

On the top of the ridge, all of the others except Dinobot had gathered. Here, they began to erect markers for their fallen comrades. It completely absorbed their attention. T.K. and Patamon set up Piccolo's marker while Hoover put Salamander's. Spiderman's was handled by Michelangelo. Seahorse's marker was planted by Kerensky. Sailor Jupiter could not bring herself to look at Sailor Mercury's. It was a sad scene all in all. Matt comforted T.K. Sailor Jupiter cried quietly on Churchill's shoulder. Sage went back into his subarmor and Tenchi let his power go as well. Charmander had to be consoled by Winston and Joe Dumars. Weregarurumon watched over the scene and felt somewhat apprehensive. No one had said anything about going home. This was the logical next step. He sniffed the air and did not like what he found. Meanwhile Trowa and Quatre looked over the land they had just fought on. Power's Hill was down from the ridge. That had been Megatron's last stand. The landscape was as if he had never been there except for the swath of desert due to the explosion. Birds still sang. The two Gundam pilots were content to listen until they realized the music had stopped. They turned and saw the monolith that Wheeljack had detected earlier. Was it foe or their ride home?

Dinobot gazed at the new arrival, still some distance away. He saw the head with its menacing two horns. The green eyes were visible from where he was. The wings too, they were orange with thin structures. The middle was chambered and red, the feet large and white. They were like walking flat tripods. Dinobot had seen enough. It was time to think. This description was familiar. _Where was it? This was certainly a figure from Autobot/Maximal Military history, but who? _Dinobot knew the answer was at the tip of his tongue. _A planet that destroys everything in its path. It transformed to become the largest transformer ever. _Dinobot knew these details were right, but he could not conclude what. _Maybe the matrix can stop it. It can. What do you know about it lad? I don't, I just have this feeling._ Dinobot knew that a further review just after this point would lead him to the answer. _Destroy Unicron! Kill the grand Pooh-Bah! Eliminate the toughest stain!_ Dinobot realized the truth. Unicron was here. And they were all in his way. This was the greatest danger that could have possibly happened.

Hoover looked up and saw the towering robot. And then he saw Dinobot running toward him. "What's up, Dinobot?" Dinobot was not in the mood to waste words, "We all must leave quickly, now even." Churchill was disturbed by such a request. "What is it Dinobot, if you're not willing to duke it out it must be real bad." "Unicron is here!" shouted the maximal. "Unicron, not THE Unicron?" asked a now disconcerted Churchill. "Yes, Orson Welles voice and everything," answered Dinobot. "Shoot, with his size, he'll be on us before we know it. We'll need to retreat, everyone to the base!" A large-scale melee ran from the towering giant who now was almost on him. Unicron realized that the group running from him might be a threat. He scanned their data. All had some power, and some had more power than others. But there was one who had the most power of all. That power had to be eliminated before it was used against him. He opened his mouth and sent a fiery gaseous blast at where he thought they were headed. The base exploded in a fireball. All within were decimated, with no chance of recovery. The gang knew that they had lost Hawkeye, Hornblower, Herschel, and Ryan. More casualties to add to the list. 

Dinobot decided something needed to be done. He had now to act. He turned from running and faced the other way. "I'll slow him down," he said. Trowa and Quatre looked at the Maximal warrior. They realized he was not kidding. They knew too that he would not be enough even to slow down the hulking villain. "We're staying too," voiced Quatre as he and Trowa got into their Gundams. Heavyarms Custom and Sandrock aligned themselves with Dinobot. They could smell the fight to come, but they would have one more ally. Matt stopped running as well. He looked at Weregarurumon and the two nodded in agreement. They would stay as well. The rest of the group slowed its pace and eventually stopped. T.K. ran up to Matt and looked up at his big brother painfully. "Matt, are you really going to fight?" Matt looked at Churchill and then at T.K. "I have to do this, T.K. Just get out of here. I'm sure some new plan will come up and they'll need you. If I get back then we can be together. I'm sure you can take care of yourself. Remember there is always someone here for you." David and Leon glanced at each other and knew what the other was thinking. "Right, then the rest of us will meet in that forest to discuss our next move and make yet another plan," Leon spoke with somewhat of a foreboding tone. Robert gravely stared at the ground, he felt bad for T.K. because of the dangers of what Matt was doing. Billy tried to look optimistic, but succeeded in looking as if he had a stomachache. David seemed inspired, however, as if there was something in those words that he grasped and no one else did. The group headed toward the forest. The last line of defense stood ready.

Unicron bore down on them with massive strides. Compared to him they were nothing but mice. He barely noticed them except for their energy ratings. The source had turned to face him. He must destroy it now. After that there were the other sources with which he would deal. He fired his eye laser at the group opposing them, scattering them temporarily. The laser made an immense crater on the ground. His opponents were dilapidated around it. He moved to step on the nearest. It got away. Unicron fired around mouth blast which missed the armor suits, but took out a good deal of forest. Unicron looked. He would dispense with the power now before it had a chance to respond. He sought it out around him. Then he found it, he honed in on it. But a sharp hit in his foot caused him to recoil from attacking the power.

Dinobot saw Unicron's huge body go after Matt. He did not why it had done so, but he had intervened by firing his laser into the foot of Unicron. The Maximal knew his task was enormous, but he did not care. They had to make it. If his death was the only way for it, then so be it. He drew his sword. The point quivered as Unicron's massive head looked down. Dinobot was so small, so miniscule, that Unicron could think of squashing a fly. "Fool, you dare attack me, very well, you shall be obliterated." Dinobot charged. He dodged a foot and some laser fire, somersaulting. Once in the rear of Unicron, Dinobot opened eye laser fire on his rear. He leaped just after and drove his sword into the leg of Unicron. The cut was small, but Dinobot had to do something. He bashed into the leg with his fists, the futility of his action apparent with every swing. Unicron shook his leg, and Dinobot flew into some of the rocks of Devil's Den. Unicron fired an eye laser shot there. Dinobot knew he could not dodge this one. He grimaced as the shot overcame him. After it had passed, he looked up. He would die honorably at least as the acidic breath of Unicron now consumed him. Dinobot was no more.

Weregarurumon surged with power. However, Trowa observed, it was the wild flickering of a candle before it went out. Matt and his digimon were ready to take vengeance for Dinobot. "Go get him, Weregarurumon, make him pay!" Matt watched from the distance. Weregarurumon jumped on Unicron and began to climb the titan. Unicron ignored the wolf and reached down. He grabbed Matt and began to squeeze. This was the power that he had feared and now he would extinguish it.

WOLF CLAW!

The attack from Weregarurumon hit his nose, leaving a mark, but no more. Weregarurumon kicked viciously at the nose to distract Unicron. He tried punching it as well. He bit at it. Nothing seemed to work. He went down the arm to help Matt. Running the length of Unicron's arm, Weregarurumon pulled and pulled at the robot's fingers to free the trapped Matt. But this struggle was too much for him, and he became Gabumon once more. Gabumon continued to attack a finger.

BLUE BLASTER!

Unicron reached other and grabbed the rookie digimon. He crushed both him and Matt and threw them into the air, where his laser played merry havoc. The boy and digimon were gone. Unicron looked for the next great power. He began moving toward another source when two somewhat larger objects stopped him. Unicron would now deal with this threat.

Trowa and Quatre knew that Unicron was headed for the others. It was their turn to sacrifice themselves to stop it in the hopes that Churchill would formulate a plan that would stop the creature. Heavyarms Custom stood in front, unloading all of its bullets into the colossus. He was barely denting it. Yet Unicron seemed occupied for the moment, and Trowa was thankful for that. The other Gundam, Sandrock, had been zipping around Unicron's legs. Quatre had moved in with heat shorters. He slashed into the legs of Unicron. His efforts were making little difference in the situation. Unicron tired moving around to shake Sandrock loose. An eye laser shot took out one of the heat shorters. Quatre slung the other one into the knee of Unicron. It made little difference. Sandrock pulled out the beam submachine gun and moved back toward Trowa. 

Heavyarms Custom had continued to fire bullets into Unicron. But now the huge beam machine guns were empty. Unicron reached toward them. Trowa let the missiles fly. They impacted into Unicron, but damage was minimal. The hulking robot was just too much for him. The guns slid off. It was up to Quatre to slow him down now. Quatre had the submachine gun up and operating. It was not producing results. He fired the homing missiles and emptied the Vulcan guns on the head into the monster as well. Yet Unicron again fired on them. They dodged. The gun emptied. There was only one option left, the self-detonation devices. Quatre and Trowa both knew that those would have to be it. Otherwise they had no chance. They quickly exited their Gundams; the timer was set. Unicron picked up his latest menaces (the Gundams) and began to crush them together in his hands. The devices blew up right then. Trowa and Quatre hid in the bushes and looked out into the clearing. There was Unicron, slightly damaged, looking for his next target. The Gundam pilots could not believe it.The monster was not stopped for a moment. The two now hoped that Churchill and the others had thought of something.


	2. All for Some Balls

All For Some Balls

All For Some Balls 

Von Moltke thought back. _What had those seven lights been that appeared when Piccolo was vanquished?_ He could not find the answers in himself so went to find Leon. Leon had got them in a somewhat safe forest place. "Leon, when Piccolo bought it, what were the seven bright flashes?" Leon smiled. He had been thinking of a last ditch effort before. Now, he could think in terms of victory. _The Dragonballs. Dende's dragonballs had replaced Piccolo in this dimension, if they could get to the dragon, then they might yet get home alive._ "David, you might just have saved us," said Leon. "Okay everybody, new plan, we split into small groups and each find one of the seven dragonballs. We'll have to hurry, we have no radar and we don't really know where they are." _Piccolo was still looking after them, even now. It was so obvious. _"They might be anywhere." Wheeljack was curious, "Can you give me any sort of description?" Leon looked at the Autobot. Neither knew that he, Wheeljack, was probably the strongest member present. Churchill spoke, "A small concentrated source of energy." Wheeljack tuned his sensors to those kind of potential spots. Sure enough the ones that weren't the dragonballs were T.K. and Patamon. "I've got all seven on the meter." Leon nodded. It was the first stroke of luck they had had for some time. "Well, then, we'll send a group for a ball, come back and go get the others. Let's group up. David, take Winston, Charmander, and Hoover and go towards the first ball. Winston can your PKE meter pick things like the dragonball?" Winston shrugged, "We can try." "All right then, Robert, take Tenchi, T.K., Patamon, and Sage. Go find number two. That'll leave me, Lita, Dumars, and Wheeljack; we'll head after three. Watch out for Unicron. If anyone should run into the rear guard, just take them along with you."

All nodded and left. Group 1 headed north. This parallel world went beyond the old Gettysburg battlefield, and the PKE meter was suggesting the ball traveled toward Carlisle. The team made their way through McPherson's Woods and continued going northward. The ball signal was getting stronger. Charmander fought around through the bushes. He had no idea what they were looking for, but they were still searching. Von Moltke was worrying. The plan had been the easy part; there was still a chance that Unicron might notice them. After all, his size made him capable of seeing just about anything. David watched as Winston followed where his meter took him. Hoover followed him. Von Moltke hoped they found it soon. They would all meet at Culp's Hill, which was back on the battlefield. Then Winston seemed to get excited. This was it, the first dragonball! Three little stars glinted up at them. David gingerly picked up the ball, and they knew it was off to find the next. Winston's meter was picking up something to the southeast. Here they went.

Lita, Leon, and Joe hopped in Wheeljack's racecar form. It was the quickest way to go. They made good time heading west in search of the next ball. Wheeljack barreled into Cashtown with no problem whatsoever. And pulled up right next to a tree. Joe jumped out and looked around for the ball. He spotted it, it's five little stars gleaming. Dumars picked up he ball and jumped back into Wheeljack. Wheeljack took off; the next ball was registering around Chambersburg. He hoped that the others weren't any farther out, because that would be tough on those guys traveling on foot. Chambersburg was coming up fast as Wheeljack did not care about speed. He pulled to stop just outside of town and Joe jumped out once again to fetch the ball, this one had seven stars. They did not know that they were nearly halfway there, but they were. Three down, four to go.


	3. It Matters Not

It Matters Not For Reasons Why…

It Matters Not For Reasons Why… 

****Unicron searched for more small concentrated energy and locked on to his next target. It was somewhere on Cemetery Hill. He headed in that direction, but he was not the only one going that way. Kerensky's group was headed there too. T.K. and Patamon walked kinda behind Robert, Tenchi, and Sage. Sage and Tenchi both knew something was up. Sage was using his wisdom ability to seek out the dragonball. Tenchi fell back to talk to T.K. "What's wrong guy? You okay?" "Yeah, I guess, I miss my brother, I wonder if he made it okay." "T.K. you should better sense than that, I'm sure your brother is fine. We'll find him." "I hope you're right." At that moment, Quatre and Trowa sprang out of the trees and into the group. "Hey Guys, how's things?" "They've been better Tenchi. They've been better." "What happened Quatre?" "Unicron. He's practically unstoppable. He trashed the Gundams." "Is Matt all right?" "Sure, T.K., Matt's fine, we just got split up somehow," answered Trowa. They had no idea trouble was so close.

T.K. was not sure about his brother. Somehow he doubted that he was alive. He didn't know why. He concerned himself. Patamon saw T.K.'s concern, but did not know what to say. If Matt was truly gone, Patamon did not want to be the one to suggest the news. _T.K.!_ "Who said that?" T.K. looked around for the producer of the voice. Tenchi, Trowa, and Quatre were arguing among themselves. Kerensky was disappeared somewhere with Sage. _T.K.! It's me, don't you recognize my voice! _"You're not Matt, could you be…" _It's Piccolo, I'm communication with you telepathically. _"Piccolo! What's wrong?" _It's your brother, T.K.; he didn't make it, Gabumon either. _"No, not Matt, noooo, Piccolo, you're not serious." _I'm dead serious, T.K. But when you find the dragonballs, he can come back, and I can too. Don't give up hope. Your time will come._ T.K. wiped away his tears. "I'm ready, Piccolo, Patamon and I will get Matt back." Patamon looked at T.K. He had no sense of the moment that just occurred, but he figured that T.K. was not losing it. "What's going on there, T.K.?" asked Patamon pointing toward Tenchi.

Tenchi knew that Trowa and Quatre were not telling the truth. He was a couple of years older than they and knew they were lousy liars. "You numskulls, why didn't you tell him the truth?" "How do you know the truth, Tenchi?" asked Quatre. "You two are so easy to read when you're distressed," Tenchi frowned. "And you decided to not tell T.K. about his own brother. You know, that was rotten. Just plain rotten. Now you've probably sent his hopes up, expecting Matt to come charging down the mountain with Gabumon in tow to save us all. It just won't work that way. He'll find out sooner or later and he'll be devastated. I'll have nothing to do with that. Tell him now. After all, he's our friend, we're supposed to be there for him." Kerensky and Sage ran toward the group. Robert was holding a dragonball, but it was clear they were being pursued by something. Looking up, they saw Unicron. The destroyer had found a new target. 

Sage and Robert had been caught in the act of picking up a dragonball, and now they ran for their lives. They stopped momentarily when they ran into Tenchi and the others. Tenchi turned on the two Gundam pilots. "I'll show you how a true friend fights." The light hawk wings appeared and Tenchi had changed clothes. The master glistened into the form of the light hawk sword. Tenchi was going to stand against incredible odds. 

"You guys get back, I'm going to stop this thing." Unicron fired on the ant attacking him. Tenchi formed a shield that held off the corrosive mouth blast. Tenchi leaped onto the foot of the creature. Unicron bent down to grab Tenchi, but his hand was prevented from closing by Tenchi's energy. Tenchi executed a huge jump and flying for a minute or two, landed on Unicron's shoulder. He tried to slice into the head of Unicron, but the best he could do were some scratches. Unicron raised his left hand to smack Tenchi off, but Tenchi's agility enabled him to attack the chest of Unicron. More scratches were all he could do. The eye laser could not break Tenchi's shield. Tenchi maneuvered quickly to attack the rear of Unicron. He hacked away at the back. Unicron was growing annoyed at this pest, he began to lean backward and fall over. If he did this he would be vulnerable for a little while, but he would crush the member of the Jurai line and his power, that was very much to fear.

_T.K., help Tenchi now! If you wait a minute longer it will be too late. He's fighting to avenge our friends. Do it! _"My god, he's going to be crushed! Patamon, go!"

Patamon…digivolve to…ANGEMON.

Angemon saw he had little time. He swooped and grabbed Tenchi, pulling him away from the rear of Unicron just as Unicron fell over. Tenchi was thankful that Angemon had saved him, but he was frustrated that he could not do anything more other than scratch Unicron. He still wanted to fight the brute. Angemon dropped him onto the ground and Tenchi powered up his sword once more, more than it had been any other time. He charged into the air and brought the sword down on Unicron's thigh, leaving a gash that was noticeable. Unicron's face showed no pain, but his voice thundered, "Little pest, at one time I would have considered sparing the lives of you and your friends, but now you will witness their dismemberment!" Angemon knew that Unicron would go after T.K. first, so he decided to preempt this. 

HAND OF FATE!

The blast was aimed at the gash in Unicron's leg. It augmented it, but Unicron kept coming. Angemon and Tenchi slowly backed off. They were not strong enough to stop it. Now they wanted to protect T.K. and hope helped arrived soon. The youth and the digimon kept their eyes on Unicron as they backed up and Unicron continued forward.

THUNDERBALL…CUT!

A surge of green energy came from behind them. It traveled quickly, piercing the gash on Unicron's leg. It was now literally a hole. But a small hole in the middle of a large gash. Sage had turned around to support his allies, but even still the three's combined power had little effect on Unicron, whose eye laser was directed at them again. "Sage, does Robert have the dragonball?" asked Tenchi, still retreating. Sage replied, "Yes, Tenchi he's with the Gundam pilots in those bushes over there." "T.K., Get Angemon to take you and Robert out of here, and go find another dragonball. We'll get this guy occupied," advised Tenchi. T.K. nodded, Angemon picked him up and headed over to get Kerensky. He retrieved Kerensky from the bushes and the three flew off to find the next dragonball.

Sage and Tenchi looked at their task ahead. There was no way to beat Unicron, but they might be able to hold him there, by playing a hit-and-run guerrilla style battle, otherwise this bucket of hope might run out.

The old Cavalry battlefield was a plain of grass. Charmander had to be careful not to start a massive fire. He decided to stay away from the grass while von Moltke, Hoover, and Winston scoured the plain for the next dragonball. At the sounds of battle coming from Cemetery Hill, they had considered getting involved by hurrying over, but they knew the plan. To find the dragonballs was their best hope. And now they struggled to find their second, although it would make five for the team. Winston's PKE meter was going crazy and he looked down. There it was, the next dragonball. Winston had no more readings in the area, so the group headed to Culp's Hill, to wait for the others to arrive. Approaching the hill, they noticed Quatre and Trowa waving them in, but the sounds of a fight were unmistakable from a short distance away. Quatre explained what was happening, but von Moltke decided there was no material help they could give Tenchi and Sage right now. The fight was moving farther and farther away from them, but they decided to sit tight.

Wheeljack hit the road south. The next reading was where Hagerstown, Maryland would have been. But the dragonball was sitting on the side of the road, just waiting for them. Dumars got out the car only to be shot at! Where had this come from? All enemies should have been terminated. Joe got behind Wheeljack. Churchill peered above the windshield and then he saw them, the McDougals! Lita transformed into Sailor Jupiter and got out of the car. Leon followed, hand on his pistol in the holster. His general's stars shown brightly in the afternoon sunlight. Wheeljack transformed. "General, who are these guys?" asked the confused Autobot. Churchill noticed the pair became a little uneasy after Wheeljack had changed shape. "I know their name is McDougal, but I don't know of anything about them, it appears they are after the dragonball too," answered Churchill, not liking this twist at all. The elder McDougal pulled out his staff and sent a massive shot down toward them. Sailor Jupiter broke it with her Oak Evolution attack. Wheeljack gave a double laser shot that followed the first strike so fast; neither McDougal could avoid the blast. The elder disappeared. But the younger was holding something, the last dragonball. Churchill pulled out his gun and walked over to the younger McDougal. "You didn't even give me a chance with your friend over there," the younger McDougal mouthed. Churchill looked down at him and said, "You were too good to give a chance."

"I reckon so," the younger McDougal smiled fakely and disappeared. Churchill picked up the dragonball. "We have four, I think we need to go to Culp's Hill to see how everyone else made out," Churchill exclaimed. He looked into the air and there was Angemon and two passengers, Robert and T.K. Wheeljack turned to them and asked, "How are things with ya'll?" "Not too good, Tenchi and Sage are holding off Unicron, Quatre and Trowa are on Culp's Hill." Churchill knew the next question would be painful to ask. "How did the diversion group make out?" T.K. turned to Leon and with a sniffle, "He got Matt, and Gabumon, too." Churchill sympathized with the small boy. Robert continued, "He also got Dinobot, and the Gundams are self destructed wrecks." Churchill turned toward the direction of Gettysburg. He had five in his possession; he had to hope the other two were at Culp's. 

Wheeljack started getting a weird transmission. He began holding his head ad flailing in convulsions. T.K. thought he knew what caused it. He ran up with his digivice and placed it on Wheeljack. The convulsions stopped and a message appeared in T.K.'s digivice. It was from Izzy. It said, 'I've been monitoring the power reading in your world, and it really has gone through the roof. But I've noticed most of it is generated from a single source. The explosion of that source would probably cause enough energy to open dimensional rifts to all the worlds that ya'll were pulled from. Just my opinion, Izzy. P.S. Apologize for me to the big guy, I didn't have any other terminal to send things through.'

Churchill gathered this data together in his mind, it concurred with his thought for the last few minutes. Destroy Unicron and we go home. It seemed so simple, but it was going to be tough, and now the Culp's Hill trek was needed more than ever. "Guys, we need to move to Culp's Hill fast and call the Eternal Dragon before Sage and Tenchi run out of time." Wheeljack transformed, and Angemon took off. They were headed to Culp's Hill.****


	4. The Reformation

The Reformation

The Reformation 

The Hill. It stood silent over the plain. It was a wooded hill with a spring in its rear. Trowa and Quatre were sitting on a log, looking over at von Moltke and Hoover. It was obvious those two were tired. Both were about to fall sleep. It was in their eyes. Little Charmander guarded the two glistening dragonballs. Winston recharged his weapon. They were waiting. They could see dust clouds in the distance. Churchill was coming and coming fast. Von Moltke idly looked overhead as Angemon now descended with T.K. and Kerensky. "Robert, do you have the balls?" asked David, concerned. "Yes, we got them all!" exclaimed an exuberant T.K. The smile on his face was unmistakable joy. He was certain Matt would be there soon to help them, and Piccolo too. Relief was apparent in the air. Angemon looked over his shoulder. There was still a battle noise to his rear, so Sage and Tenchi must still be holding out against them. "The others will be here soon," even as Angemon spoke Wheeljack was plainly visible. "I'm right here, myself." "Michelangelo! Where did you come from?" asked an amazed Hoover. "I got separated from everyone when Unicron appeared, I just now found ya'll. I hope everyone's okay." "We'll be doing just fine as soon as Wheeljack gets here with the others." "That's good, I was worried about being the only survivor, but with all the fighting going on still, I knew someone had to be left." "They're here."

Joe, Leon, and Lita got out of Wheeljack. The Autobot transformed and produced the five other dragonballs. "Well, let's get started people, put all the balls together." The seven balls were placed together, but nothing happened. T.K. walked up to the dragonballs. All of the sudden his digivice glowed, causing a reaction in the balls. The balls glowed. T.K. quickly backed off. A form emerged and quickly became a long stringy white shape, which by and by became the Eternal Dragon. "You who have summoned me here, make your wish now! Well, what do you say?"

"Bring all our comrades who have died on this plane," answered Churchill.

"Very well, your wish is granted. What of your second wish?"

Churchill turned to his companions. None of them knew where their formerly lost compadres were. But as for the second wish, von Moltke knew what should be next. "Upgrade the destroyed Gundams."

"Very well, your wished is granted."

A noise was heard all looked as Heavyarms Custom's remains were levitating in front of them. The blue color scheme was replaced with the old red color scheme. The pieces came together, legs, arms, torso, and finally head. The green eyes lit up briefly. Gundam Neo-Heavyarms was now ready for battle. Trowa just could not believe it. But the surprise was not over. Sandrock's fins turned a navy blue, as did the hip plate. The heat shorters looked stronger, they too had the blue color. The submachine gun was given the same blue tint. The black torso and white legs seemed to stay the same, as did the head. The arms were stronger and more powerful. The body was sleeker and more combat ready. Quatre just smiled. It just seemed to suit dear old Sandrock. Neo-Sandrock joined Neo-Heavyarms as a lean mean fighting machine. It looked like they were ready for Unicron, but where were Piccolo and the others?

Sage and Tenchi were really running out of time. Their fight with Unicron was wearing them out. And night was coming on as well. They were coming up on Little Round Top. Tenchi still bore a determined look on his face, but Sage was looking more and more haggard. Unicron continued to fire his eye laser. The ground was frothing with craters where the laser had missed. Sage and Tenchi scattered. Tenchi prepared himself for the charge he would make. Sage needed time to rest; he might have one more blast left in him. "Take this!" Tenchi charged, master key glowing, right at Unicron's foot. Unicron moved his foot so as to step on Tenchi put Tenchi moved into the air and brought his strike down on Unicron's knee. Unicron moved his left arm to whack Tenchi away. The sword just was not driving that far in. The hand was about to come down… THUNDERBALL…CUT!

A wave of green energy smacked into the hand pushing it away. Sage knew he had nothing left, he just merely retreated but he stopped. Tenchi used the opportunity to slice off Unicron's tender thumb. Then he jumped down to join Sage and he was aghast. IT was a line of people. There was a wolf-like one, a boy several younger than him or even the Gundam pilots, a large green figure in a turban, a velociraptor, and an armadillo. Even Unicron halted. The line stood adamant. Piccolo, the Super-Namek sized up his next opponent. Matt, the boy recognized the face that had caused him so much pain and suffering. Gabumon, the digimon was ready to go to the next level to defeat Unicron. Dinobot, the transformer sought revenge. Salamander, the battle beast craved a fight, even one where he could not win.

Piccolo judged the situation while Unicron was still trying to figure out where these newest enemies had come from. Sage and Tenchi were tired. Salamander had little he could do. Their enemy was too strong in his present state. Piccolo knew his best chances were to retreat. But he wasn't going to play this card just yet. Too much could be salvaged here. "Matt, Dinobot, at the count of three, we are going to create a big enough flare to cause him to lose sight of us, while we go find the others. Tenchi, do you have enough energy to contribute to the blast?" Tenchi panted, but then nodded. He was relieved his tour of duty against Unicron was over, for now. Piccolo raised both hands and sent a blast in the direction of Unicron's face. Dinobot contributed an eye laser attack to it.

BLUE BLASTER!

Gabumon added his force to the blast. Tenchi summoned what energy was left in him and the white power radiated from the master key. This combined blast was extremely bright, and Unicron's sensors blanked out for a moment, enough time for Piccolo and the others to sneak away, and soon run into their companions from Culp's Hill. Both sides stopped in awe of the other. For the Culp's Hill group, it was the reappearance of Piccolo and the others. They seemed to wear auras around them. For Sage and Tenchi the Neo-Gundams were a shock.

Leon needed to organize. Unicron would recover soon, and then they'd have to move again. "Dinobot, where is everyone else?" he asked. Dinobot replied, "For their safety, they were kept back away from the fight. They are protected elsewhere by Spiderman, we came on ahead." "Thanks, Joe, take Robert and Billy there," ordered Leon. "By and by, Unicron's going to come upon us again, we need time to figure out a plan, so we will scatter into small groups and reunite at Big Round Top, that large hill over there. Any objections?" No one said a thing. All were concentrating on the eminent arrival of Unicron. Dumars, Hoover, and Kerensky left. They all knew they might get in the way. Churchill looked at Sage and Tenchi, still breathing hard from their long defense. "Good job, guys. Try to rest up. You'll need it." Angemon hovered in the air looking for the form of Unicron to appear as if it were walking their way. Piccolo was there too. "Piccolo, can we really beat this guy? He's so big and so unassailable. It took attacks by me, Sage, and Tenchi just to pierce his skin in one spot. I know we're stronger now and that we've never put all our strength on the field before, but it's tough to speculate. What's your opinion?" asked Angemon. "He's going to be tough alright, but no opponent is invincible. He must have a weakness somewhere. His initial attacks were against Matt and T.K., so there has to be some connection there. Tenchi was able to annoy him at least, so there's hope there. And you all have never seen my true power, because I never got the chance to use it. But what's this 'all our strength bit mean. I think other than myself never getting a chance to power up fully, there is only the times when others were missing that could mean not all power." "I mean with the Neo-Gundams now, Metalgarurumon (a form Piccolo has never seen), you at full power, me as Magnaangemon, Sage all out, Tenchi all out, Dinobot and Wheeljack all out, I think you get my picture." "I see. I don't truly know, but I have a funny suspicion that this guy has to be defeated from within." Angemon nodded. But here came Unicron. 

"Angemon, you remember the plan, get T.K. out of here now!" yelled Piccolo. Angemon went down and found T.K., Matt, and Gabumon. "Guys, we need to check out." Unicron saw his prey. He moved to step on some of them. Piccolo dove down, interposing himself between Unicron and the others. He threw off his training clothes and powered up. Wheeljack could not believe the power he was sensing coming from the Namek. His instruments were going crazy. "This can't be, how?" but the Autobot engineer was no longer interested in figuring it out. "Everybody, scram now!" ordered Churchill. David, the Neo-Gundams, Salamander, Sage, and Charmander went one way. Tenchi, Matt, Gabumon, Angemon, T.K., Michelangelo, and Dinobot went another. Churchill held his ground. "Wheeljack what is Piccolo reading right now?" asked a perplexed Churchill. "60,000,000 and rising very fast." Leon turned behind him. "Lita! Get out of here. Now. I won't have you killed." He was calm in this atmosphere of excitement. "I'm not going," she answered. "Why not? Wheeljack and I have to help Piccolo." "I won't leave you." "You've got to." "No I don't want to lose you." Churchill gave up. He never knew much about women anyway, and this occasion was no different. But man, Piccolo was pumped up.

The yellow glow surrounded Piccolo. The energy he was producing was raising rocks and stones and soil. Wheeljack read his detector again. Piccolo appeared to be maxing out. He was at 86,000,000 now. The Namek stared at Unicron. Unicron could not stare back at the tiny Namek. "You realize you messed with the wrong guy today. Is it fun to go after guys who do not stand a chance at beating you? I despise such people." Unicron said nothing. Piccolo charged at the body of Unicron with all his might. His speed was incredible. The punch left a visible ripple on Unicron, but no real damage. Piccolo fired scattershot into Unicron from the air for a while, eventually blinding the giant monster temporarily again. His blasts left small cuts and scrapes around Unicron's face. Piccolo looked down at Churchill. "It's time to go, boss." Churchill nodded and motioned for Wheeljack to follow. The night descended, and the quartet started slowly toward Big Round Top.


	5. The Calm

The Calm

The Calm 

The group rested. Wheeljack was figuring things out. Churchill found a good tree to lean against. Piccolo did the same. He sat across from Leon. Leon was tired. Piccolo started a small fire. Leon drifted off; he was going to get a little sleep. He was still slightly in pain from his wounds due to Raditz. While he napped he felt his pain go away. That woke him, and he turned his head. Lita had snuggled up to him. Her head lay on his left shoulder. Leon made sure not to wake her. Piccolo was still awake across from him. "How do I get this lucky, Piccolo?" asked Churchill. "You are true to yourself, as far as I know, and you keep your promises. You promised her safety, she got it, you promised her Sailor Mercury back, it happened, and you've implied that you are going to get us out of this alternate plane. As far as I can tell, that's why she fell for you," replied Piccolo. "But that was my duty," responded Churchill. "I doesn't matter. She saw something in you that she wants to be near," answered Piccolo. "Piccolo, why does a guy like you follow a guy like me?" "Your attention to duty has something to do with it. You try not to risk our lives unless some benefit can come from it. Besides, you always had a plan. Somewhere to go, that would get us all where we were going, how could we not hitch on to the bandwagon. Also, you knew all of us for some reason or another before we knew each other. And you haven't failed yet," replied Piccolo. "How did you get here anyway?"

"It was a weird day. One minute Robert, Billy, and I are on the practice field, the next minute we're here on this ground being fired at by tanker drones. We were on the run for three days, living off peaches. Then we found the base. It was just there. That's about when I met Joe Dumars and Hawkeye. Joe found the tank, but we kept it a secret. No one knew about Joe either. Then there was the coming of the shooting stars. We hoped ya'll were on our side. Sage hit close to the base. We used the base's equipment to detect the rest of you, and we sent Sage after you. And now here we are, with Unicron to fight and separated again.Hope Big Round Top can catch everyone. Together, we'll be unstoppable," Churchill's dissertation ended. Piccolo nodded. "I'm going to meditate for awhile, I'll be back before daybreak." He left. Wheeljack was in car form and was also resting. Churchill looked up. It was a little cloudy, the clouds whisking along like strands of cotton growing in the field. The great trees seemed to hover in the wind gently, their leaves breathing sighs of relief. Lita's hair had a silky feel to it as it brushed against his neck. He was in perfect serenity. The stars twinkled above. Canis Major and its great star Sirius. Canis Minor trailing with the star Procyon. The Gemini twins. Auriga, the charioteer, with the goat-star Capella, his chariot latched onto Taurus the bull. He put his arm around the girl beside him. He wanted to take it all in. This one moment, forever and ever, to infinity and beyond. The moon shone over the plain, its shining disk offering new hope for the coming day. He looked again at the warm form leaning against his. He was at complete peace. The mewing of woodcocks and the lonely hoot of the owl kept the scene intact. Lita shifted, and in doing so, looked up. They peered into each other's eyes. Neither could move.

Lita noticed the arm around her, holding her closely to the general. His uniform seemed to disappear; this was Leon the man, not Leon the military commander. She could sense this change and she enjoyed the prospects of it. Without a word, Leon stood up, raising her with him. Then he blushingly let her go. He started to walk into the woods in the opposite direction of Piccolo's movement earlier. She followed him. She knew his feelings about her now, so why was he still so shy? It didn't really make sense. She had surrendered herself to him after that kiss that followed him saving her from Megatron. He had been, except in that instant, a soldier. She had not been sure what to do about him for a while. There were always others around. She wouldn't declare her feelings in front of Wheeljack, Piccolo, and especially not Joe Dumars. If she could catch up with him, then maybe she could find out his true intentions. She wanted some sign that he truly cared, a sign that build on the kiss earlier.

Churchill's stars reflected the moonlight as he trod softly. His head was down and his hands were in his pockets. He knew that he had to be more assertive around Lita. Hiding his feelings forever wouldn't solve anything, nor would teasing her occasionally with some signs. He hadn't meant it to be teasing; indeed, he had just let his feelings run away with him at those times. In the hospital, on the battlefield, under that tree, all were instances where he had given in to feelings. He wasn't sure what he'd do if anything happened to her. He didn't get much more time to walk and think as she caught up with him. Lita looked at the general, his head down pondering, and asked innocently, "What do you do in your world?" Leon smiled for a second and put his head up and said, "Well, I go to school, come home, do homework, goof off, watch TV, go to bed, that's about it." "You mean you're not a military man there? How do know so much?" "Nope, I'm just a overwhelmed student. I read Longstreet, Patton, and Pershing. That's where I get most of what I know." "Oh." "Yeah." "Do you date in your world?" "No. I'm single and to tell you the truth, I've never dated anyone before." Lita now ceased her questioning for a moment. They were approaching a ridge with a nice view of the whole battlefield. Leon climbed one of the rocks and sat down on it. Lita followed. Leon wondered if he would ever be able to tell her his feelings.

The two sat on the rock, Leon watched the stars, and Lita watched him. Ironically, it appeared that the planet Jupiter was present in the constellation Aries. Lita looked up and saw her planet. It easily outshone the small constellation. Leon appeared to shudder when he saw where the planet was. His face flushed with color, a reaction not missed by Lita. Lita spoke, "When were you born?" Leon paused before answering, "Early April." Lita tried to remember what Ami had said of the Zodiac. Oh, Aries was late March, and early April. And her planet was in his constellation. That's why he was so embarrassed. "Leon's not your real name is it?" Churchill shuddered. He had never suspected she would guess that. "Why would you think that?" Lita replied, "I overheard Piccolo and Wheeljack talking while you slept. Piccolo didn't seem to think your first name was Leon at all. Evidently T.K. told Piccolo that when von Moltke got there, he didn't even recognize the name Leon, but he knew the name Churchill well enough." Lita looked at him with her big eyes and Leon lost the ability to keep his identity a secret any longer. "My name is John W. C. Thomas, my nickname related to the fact that I formed the Young Trotskyites club at my school. Long live International Communism! What a joke. My third name is Churchill. I used those two names, because I didn't want any of you to turn traitor and try to spread false information to the enemy. I doubted any of you would consider it. So now you know. That's why it took David a little while to figure out who I was," Churchill spilled his beans.

Lita was at first surprised, but then she felt even warmer. She was certain he'd told no one else. Very well, she'd keep his secret. "John, you must know I care for you, why do you fight against it?" "Well, I've always fought against everything. Hold my own, commit to the front line, never retreat an inch, never give up, never say die, never surrender, give the whole nine yards, you know what I mean. I just don't let people get real close, especially if I might not know them again. But with you, I don't know, I really want there to be something between us, but I also know that as soon as Unicron's defeated that I may never see you again. I don't want to hurt you like that." "But I can always go with you to your world," suggested Lita. "No, you couldn't do that. You're needed; you're a sailor scout. What would they do without you?" responded John. Lita turned her head thinking, her ponytail fell over her shoulder. She twirled her hair slowly. John was getting super nervous now. She was beautiful. There was no doubt about that. She was definitely incredible. Part of his resistance was a feeling of unworthiness. He was building up his resolve quickly; he felt there was no other choice. She had professed her feelings for him; there was no reason why he could not reciprocate. So she might be gone in a few hours or less, didn't someone say it _was better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all? _Also, what if it failed, didn't someone else say _Open a new window, open a new door, drive on a new highway that's never been drived before, before, you find you're a dull fellow, punching the same clock, walking the same tightrope as everyone on the block, there's only one way to make the magic stay, that is open a new window, drive on a new highway, toast to a new vintage every day._ That was random enough. By golly, he was going to tell her. To heck with consequences, it didn't seem that they bothered her.

The general stood up. This was the moment. This was the time. "Lita, I like you a lot, but I just don't feel right for you. I feel that you deserve better. I want to be your man, a shoulder to cry on, a friend to rely on, you can depend on me. Will you go fishing with me?" It was everything Lita had longed to hear, although fishing hadn't much to do with it. She knew this was John's way of wanting to form a couple, a more perfect union, to basically 'go out.' He clamored down the rock and turned to help her down. Lita was all too ready to be helped. The two walked hand in hand before coming across a pond. Lita couldn't be happier and a smile seemed to remain on the general's face. Behind a tree were two fishing poles. He took one himself and gave the other one to Lita. She seemed surprised that they were actually fishing in the midnight air. They sat on the bank together; the general's right arm wrapped around Lita while his left controlled the fishing pole. Lita didn't pay much attention to her line; she was more focused on him. Then a tug hit her line. She could easily have pulled it in herself, but she wanted to see what John would do. He guided his arms around hers to help her catch the fish. "Come on, carefully, slowly, that's right, show him who's boss," came the helpful commentary. The fish came out of the pond. Lita unhooked him and threw him back in the pond. She cozied up to John and looked into his clear blue eyes. His arms were still around her. She closed her eyes and moved her head up slowly, carefully. Then it happened. She could feel his breath as their lips met. She moved her arms around his back, and the kiss continued deeply. She didn't want it to end.But she knew it must. He released and she felt herself being laid on the grass. She turned to look at him and she knew Leon had returned; the warrior was refinding his duty. "Thanks, Lita, but we'd better get back." Lita smiled, this evening had been so dreamy. She did not want it to stop here, but if it had to, there was always the promise of tomorrow. She followed Leon back to where Wheeljack was. Lita sat against an oak tree and drifted off. As she fell asleep she noticed Piccolo and John go off to talk strategy. Tomorrow…maybe tomorrow…

"John Thomas, nice to meet you, I'm Piccolo." "Piccolo, you were able to hear us? What else did you hear?" asked John in desperation. "Nothing, but I wonder what else you're hiding, general, what else is there that you don't really want us to know about. I wonder. Could it be you know something about this Unicron? Well, out with it," replied Piccolo. "Yes, Piccolo, there is something I haven't mentioned. Unicron is beatable. We have to find his core unit and destroy it, the only time it was destroyed was when the Autobot matrix of leadership was opened inside of him and its power destroyed him. I feel that if we can break into his main frame that we can destroy the core unit. But it will call for a lot of fighting outside to get the force in, and to keep Unicron from concentrating on the force inside of him," said John. Piccolo nodded. He understood now what was going on. The general's alias did not mean that Piccolo could not trust him- it was just a tool. He would respect the general's wishes. No one had been hurt. "I suggest you get some sleep, general. I'll keep watch." Piccolo continued watching until morning came. Soon it would be time to go up the big hill.

David von Moltke was restless. Just plain restless. He had now spent a full day on this plain. He was beginning to feel at home. Comfortable. Confident. David seemed to have a knowledge of things going on that no one else did. He saw the hill where the meeting would take place in the morning and he relished the opportunity. Tomorrow, Unicron would go down. He just had a feeling. All he had to do was look behind him. There were the Neo-Gundams. Excellent pieces of work with armaments unimaginable by ordinary standards. Underneath the Gundams, Quatre, Trowa, and Charmander slept quietly. The flame on Charmander's tail lit up some of the night. Despite this beacon, Trowa and Quatre were sleeping soundly against their respective Gundams' legs. Not far away Sage meditated in his subarmor. He was clearing his mind and his spirit. He had to build his own strength; no other Ronin Warriors would appear to strengthen his armor by a link with their own. He also looked for a weakness on Unicron. After a thorough search, Sage decided the monster had to fall from within. He did not know how to get into the monster though. Sage came to. He looked across at von Moltke. Maybe he knew how to get in.

Matt woke up in the night. He noticed T.K., Gabumon, and Patamon all leaning together. He got up, yawned and walked toward a tree. He peered around it and saw Tenchi, awake still, guarding the center from harm. Matt retraced his steps and went the other way. There was Dinobot, watching for trouble. Winston and Michelangelo could also be seen awake on other parts of the perimeter. Matt went to talk to Tenchi. Matt tapped on Tenchi's shoulder. "Thanks for yesterday," he said. Tenchi was startled. "How did you know?" "I know, it was the way you were fighting Unicron when you came upon us." "Matt, it's good to have you back, maybe now we can destroy the evil here." "Man, you know we will. We've got everyone back together. We're a team, and nothing can stop us." "Matt, get some rest, we'll take care of guard duty." "Thanks, Tenchi." Matt went back to the cluster and fell asleep. Tenchi looked at the hill. Tomorrow, hopefully it would all end tomorrow. He missed his dad, his grandpa, and yes, Ryoko, Ayeka, Sasami, Mihoshi, Kiyone, and Washu, too. He was rebuilding his power. He would not be denied.


	6. Day of Reckoning

The Inside Story

Day of Reckoning 

Von Moltke and his group made it up the hill. There were all the others. For a moment von Moltke didn't care what the others were doing, he sought out Churchill. David all of the sudden had questions. He hoped Leon had the answers. David found Leon and dragged him away. "What is it David?"

"What did you decide to do?"

"Well,"

"The inside isn't it?"

"Yeah. We destroy the operations center, cause a large enough blast to rip into the several worlds and get home."

"You know and I know that what you're planning won't work, we'll lose them before we get in."

"Says who? Getting in might be difficult, but they can make it."

"So you'll sacrifice them again just to get home?"

"No, David, I wouldn't dream of it."

"Face it, our best option is to pound him into submission from the outside. We've got the power to do it."

"No, we don't. Pounding at his exterior would stalemate things at best. We're playing for too much, and they are too. I wouldn't risk them if I didn't have to. My plan offers our best chance."

"So what of Seahorse, Salamander, Sailor Mercury, Piccolo, Spiderman. Did they not fall victim to one of your plans?"

"Look, I can't claim perfection. Who can? Mistakes in tactics were made, but the strategy was sound."

"Tactics! You blame tactics! So now you blame me!"

"Did you have control of them? No. Did you know Megatron would hide in his base until the last moment? No. Stop kicking me and stop kicking yourself. We've lived by luck, it only reasons to lose by luck as well."

"You don't understand. Unlike you, I can't just look sharp and send others to do the dirty work. I can't hide behind Sailor Jupiter and draw little plans of how Piccolo and Matt can do my dirty work. I won't send them into a death trap. Call off your plan."

"Look do you know what we're doing here? Do you why you're here?"

"Yes, to get these characters home in one piece."

"Yes, but you have yet to see things as they are. Why do they carry out these plans? What makes Piccolo throw himself in front of T.K.? What causes Tenchi to hold off a monster many many times larger? They don't do it for me. They don't fight for me. Have you ever seen their eyes, have you ever seen Winston cut down the guy whose about to strike Tenchi? Have you seen Dinobot when his sword goes through the enemy attacking Matt? Or Sage pulling out all the stops? Think, David, why would Piccolo replace himself with the dragonballs? And we have no idea where these guys go to when they 'die.' We might have sent Piccolo back to his world. _But he sent the dragonballs so he could get back, to separate himself again, for the greater good._ And Matt and the others willingly came back too. David, we owe it to them to do this right. We hit the inside."

"O.K. We'll play it your way."

Sage, Piccolo, and Wheeljack all knew what had passed between the general and von Moltke. Sage stared into the forest, wondering how they would break into the metal giant. Not easily, that's for sure. He searched his knowledge of Unicron, looking for a weakness. He had no luck this time. Wheeljack on the other hand knew the general had something in mind. That was good enough for him. Let Leon Churchill figure it out. Piccolo also wondered what John had in mind, but he said nothing of it. The pair was coming back from their conversation. Those who knew Churchill recognized the look on his face. He had an idea. "Circle round men, we have to plan our strategy," he said. Charmander, T.K., Patamon, Gabumon, Matt, Dinobot, Trowa, Quatre, Tenchi, Sage, Winston, Wheeljack, Salamander, Michelangelo, Piccolo, von Moltke, and Lita gathered around him. "Here's the plan. Piccolo you go high towards the eyes. You release a blast into the left eye. It shatters and you and a group follow the blast down. Once inside, look for the core station and destroy it. Then get out as quick as you can. Hopefully the blast will kill Unicron. Any questions?" Piccolo answered, "Yeah, why me? The other guys are going to fighting for their lives out here, don't you think you need me out here?" Leon pondered out loud, "Do we have anything that strong out here?"

Gabumon…warpdigivolve to…METALGARURUMON!

"Never mind, Matt, do you want the job?" Leon asked.

"I'll take it," Matt replied.

"I'll back him up," responded Michelangelo.

"Piccolo what kind of force do you need out here with you?" asked Leon.

"I'll need the Gundams, Dinobot, Wheeljack, and Tenchi for sure. And T.K. too," answered Piccolo.

"Then you've got them. Sage, Salamander, and Charmander, you're going with Matt and Metalgarurumon. Winston, Lita, David, and myself will remain out here with Piccolo. Now let's get this plan going. Metalgarurumon can carry Matt, Sage, and the two little guys. Patamon, could you airlift Michelangelo there as Angemon?" stated Leon.

"I think so," answered the little digimon.

"Good. Piccolo, I still want you to get them in, but leave them after that. O.K., that's the deal, then. We strike first, and look for an opportunity to send ya'll in. Got it? Good. Then let's move out!"

There was a slight pause as some things had to be done first. Piccolo, whose training clothes had reappeared somehow, now took them off and put them gently on the ground. He began to power up. As his power began to build, the others were forced to find something to hide behind as Piccolo continued to power up and the winds picked up, the ground began to shake and literally pieces were rising in the air. Metalgarurumon was forced to shield some people, while others found refuge behind the Gundams and Wheeljack. Piccolo had reached his highest peak. The yellow flame surrounded his figure and the earthworks stopped. There were others who had to do some things too…

ARMOR OF HALO…Tochei!

JUPITER STAR POWER!

DINOBOT…MAXIMIZE!

Patamon…digivolve to…ANGEMON!

The buck stopped here. And Unicron would stop here too.

Unicron noticed the commotion on the hilltop. He would kill them all. Nothing could get in his way of ruling the universe. This was his second chance after all. The confederation arrayed against him would fail and fail miserably. He looked at his small wounds picked up from the first day's fighting. There were only a couple of penetrations. He was tired of having to find them to defeat them. Piccolo's energy tipped him off. His opponents were a strange group, really, only two of their energy signatures said Transformer. He would have expected more. No others registered as androids, either. All seemed to be carbon based life forms. Unicron didn't care really. They were in his way. He would put them away. Only one thing worried him. Before when he had eliminated the boy, the boy had come back. He pushed it out of his mind. This time, he'd make it so the boy could not come back. He moved toward the energy flow. When he got there there was no one there. He looked around calmly. Then he heard the word, "ATTACK!"

A ferocious charge came upon Unicron. Sandrock, with its new capabilities, leaped into the air, and aimed right for the gut. Raising one heat shorter up and the other in front, he kept coming. All of the sudden both heat shorters went plunging into Unicron's metal skin. The sizzle of heat slicing through metal was audible. Unicron brought down his arms to smack the Gundam, but at the last second it escaped. Heavyarms went into the air and began to lay on a barrage. Unicron reached for the Gundam, but Heavyarms outmaneuvered the flailing hand. Quatre and Trowa both knew what they had to do. In their cockpits, their faces were gaunt and determined. This was for keeps. As Heavyarms skirted the hand, Dinobot moved in on the foot area. He fired his eye laser into Unicron's foot, and then began to use his sword to hack away at the foot. Unicron ceased chasing Heavyarms and turned on this new threat. He reached down to crush Dinobot when a beam struck one of his fingers and weakened it severely. Winston looked down the barrel of his proton gun to see if he had gotten the creature. Tenchi then leaped into the air and sliced the finger right off. The huge finger descended causing Michelangelo to have to have to dodge it. Beside him was Metalgarurumon with the rest of the guys who would soon try to enter Unicron. Unicron attempted to brush off Tenchi when…

HAND OF FATE!

Angemon's blast hit Unicron's arm, distracting him from Tenchi. Leon knew the time was soon. Wheeljack had risen into the air temporarily and fired his shoulder guns; the blast hit the shoulder of Unicron. Unicron was thoroughly annoyed. Churchill knew it was time. "Piccolo, now!"

The Super-Namek rose into air. Metalgarurumon followed. Angemon picked up Michelangelo and lifted him toward Piccolo. The Super-Namek raised his hands high. Dinobot and Winston started attacking Unicron's feet again. Unicron fired his eye laser at his feet causing the two to scatter. Piccolo gathered his energy.

MASENKO-HA!

The blast moved down into the eye. It pierced it and kept going. Metalgarurumon dove to follow and Angemon dropped Michelangelo into the breakthrough.Matt, now inside the huge machine watched the Masenko blast as it illuminated the dark interior. With this light, Matt saw the spikes and inner parts of Unicron. "Metalgarurumon, follow that blast until there is something to land on." The Masenko blast was getting a little away from them. Metalgarurumon kept up his dive and saw a solid surface below. He landed. Piccolo's blast continued down into the frame of Unicron. Then they heard a thump next to them. It was Michelangelo, who had not quite so gracefully landed beside them. "Ouch, that hurt," muttered the turtle as everyone got off of Metalgarurumon. Charmander's tail lit up the observable area, but it was a little dark. Sage looked around him, feeling for the center of operations. "This way," he pointed. The others followed. Coming around a bend down what seemed to be a hallway, Michelangelo just happened to turn around. "What the heck?"

Outside, things had changed. Von Moltke turned to Churchill, who seemed to be fatigued for some reason. "Things were going so well, what happened?" "We surprised him at first, he didn't have time to pull out his eye laser and acidic breath. Now that the surprise is over, he is finding his faculties again. It was to be expected, but best-case scenario now means Piccolo and Tenchi blocking those attacks, and I don't know how much they can block. If we attack all at once, then we should catch him off guard."

Churchill turned toward T.K. "T.K. get Angemon to attack now. Piccolo, watch for a counterattack. You too, Tenchi. Dinobot, Winston, Wheeljack, Trowa, Quatre, all attack with Angemon, you too Sailor Jupiter. Go!" Angemon struck right for the head with a hand of fate. Winston aimed for the knee with a proton gun blast; Dinobot fired an eye laser at the other leg. Heavyarms landed and placed a barrage right at Unicron's arm. Sandrock charged the rear, leaving indentations where his heat shorters had sliced. Wheeljack aimed a shoulder gun shot at the opposite arm from Trowa. Sailor Jupiter supported Dinobot's attack on the left leg. Acidic breath came from Unicron at Sailor Jupiter and Dinobot. Tenchi unleashed his shield and put it at full power to block this threat. Annoyed, Unicron sent an eye laser in the same direction; Piccolo produced a blast that blocked it away from the battlefield. Unicron realized that this attack was too organized to be chance; he looked for the culprit. As for now, he swung his arm, barely knocking Piccolo to the ground, he shrugged off Dinobot with his foot, sending the Maximal into the trees. He also flicked away Angemon. The Champion held, but he was a little winded. T.K. rushed over to give support. The others avoided Unicron's attempts to beat them into the ground. Tenchi gladly got out of the way of the acid breath, and it harmlessly hit some rock, and melted them to the ground. Piccolo and Angemon and Dinobot got up, ready to go at it again, but Unicron now held the initiative.

Michelangelo watched in horror as crab-like pinchers attached to cables came out of the wall after them. He pulled out his nunchuks and began to hold them off, but there were too many of them. The sounds of fighting quickly reached the rest of the group. They were astonished, but they quickly moved to help Michelangelo. Sage's sword found and cut off several of the cables. Salamander managed to slash through some with his claw. Charmander torched a few with his flamethrower. Metalgarurumon aimed his wolf snout attack to claim several more. But more kept right on coming, closer and closer. It was evident that they all could be stuck there if they stayed. Michelangelo kept fending off his, and Salamander's claw kept right on working. Sage realized that unless someone did something quick, they would go no farther. Their mission would fail and their friends outside might meet a grisly fate. He would have to buy sometime. In a war of attrition, the odds were not great for their survival. Sage took matters into his own hands…

THUNDERBALL…CUT!

The wave of green light wiped out all of the little pinchers in the area, and bought breathing space for the group. "Matt, take Metalgarurumon, Charmander, and Salamander and get out of here. Go find the objective. Michelangelo and I will hold off our little friends here. Go!" Matt and the two little ones mounted Metalgarurumon and took off away from the spot where they had met the pinchers. They kept looking for the operational control center.

Churchill collapsed. The bombardment had worked temporarily, but they needed to keep beating on Unicron. Churchill's collapse was sudden and unexpected. He retained consciousness, but his legs had no strength left in them. All this was a surprise to von Moltke beside him. "John, are you okay? What's wrong with you?" David's concern was evident, for till now, he had played along with the name game. "I'm fine. I'm just a little sore, that's all." Sailor Jupiter rushed over. T.K. and Winston began to come over that way too. The others tried to distract Unicron. "Sailor Jupiter, do you know what's wrong with him?" Sailor Jupiter shook her head, but she had a feeling that she knew. Winston was now over there. "General, I'm going to take your uniform jacket off to see if there is anything there. Just stay calm and don't move." Removal of the three-star jacket showed blood spots on the inner shirt. Winston removed that too. Then it was evident. The old wounds were still there. They had healed over, but the numerous scars showed where the tree had fallen on him. Winston gasped, "Good lord, how did he manage to function with this all the time?" Sailor Jupiter looked into the face of Churchill. "Why didn't you take a Sensu bean like the others?" "I thought we might need them later for others. I guess I underestimated my wounds." T.K. looked up, "Well, it doesn't look like Unicron has underestimated you." Unicron knew Churchill was the brain of the operation now. He moved to crush the fallen soldier with his foot. Sailor Jupiter moved in front and prepared her strongest attack. Winston moved to counterattack a different place, while David and T.K. attempted to drag Churchill out of the way. But the general was in too much pain to move.

Matt, Charmander, Salamander, and Metalgarurumon kept on the look out for anything that might suggest an operations center, or a brain. They presently came upon an acid pool. Over it was a conveyer apparatus. It appeared that the conveyers dropped objects into the acid where the acid would end it for them. It was a lousy way to die. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that for anyone. "I reckon this is the stomach," exclaimed Salamander. The battle beast had never spoken a word up till now. "I have to agree," replied Metalgarurumon, "Matt, if this is the stomach, don't you think we should try to look for the brain in his head?" "Good call, pal. It kind of stinks that that's where we got in from. Oh, well. Let's find this thing," said Matt. The group now had to look for a way back into the head cavity. But first they had some company.

Sailor Jupiter wasn't sure if she could stop the moving foot by herself or not. She doubted it, but if she didn't hold here, John's life could be counted in seconds. Down the huge foot came. There was no time to think of anything else, when a green blur pushed her out of the way. Piccolo charged up the biggest blast he could and fired. The foot was stalemated momentarily, but it soon began to work its way down. Tenchi unleashed the light-hawk wings and used the shield to help keep the foot back. Winston fired his proton gun against the knee of the moving foot. "Trowa, Quatre!" yelled Piccolo, "I could use a little help here!" Heavyarms began pounding on Unicron's backside. The bullets were actually close to piercing. Sandrock threw his heat shorters into the arm of Unicron. The searing heat was melting away his outer skin. Sandrock whipped out his beam submachine gun and aided Trowa in pelting the back with shots. Wheeljack pulled out a laser and three were striking Unicron in the back. Dinobot rushed to help Piccolo and Tenchi as they tried to save the general. The Maximal fired his eye laser into the foot of Unicron. Angemon directed a hand of fate near where Winston blasted at the knee. Von Moltke succeeded in getting Churchill out of harms way for the moment. Unicron's acid shot at his own foot dispersed Piccolo, Tenchi, and Dinobot. Sailor Jupiter got up and ran to where T.K. and David had moved Leon. Piccolo noticed the heat shorters stuck in Unicron's arm. All of the sudden he had an idea. "T.K., I'm going to charge up a big shot, but I'm going to need some time, can you help me out?"

Angemon…digivolve to…MAGNAANGEMON!

"Will that work Piccolo?"

"If he can hold him with the others, sure."

Magnaangemon looked over the battlefield. The Gundams were holding their own. Wheeljack was helping them while Dinobot and Tenchi were still recovering from the foot incident. Winston was charging his proton gun. T.K. motioned to him. Magnaangemon descended. "Is it possible for you to do something for the general?"

Magnaangemon stood over the commander. 

MAGNA ANTIDOTE! 

The vibrant color pattern went down. Leon felt better than he had ever felt before. He stood up. He reached down, feeling for his holster. He found it and fingered around for a weapon. He withdrew his weapon, and looked at it. There was a message on the back of it

_You never know when you might need one of these- Gene Starwind. _A caster. Huh. Wonder how it got here. Leon thought to himself that maybe he could make himself useful after all.

Sage slung his sword around, destroying the little pinchers and their cables. There were certainly a lot of them, and he never got an opportunity to rest. He looked to his rear. There, Michelangelo too was wading trough an ocean of pinchers. He slung his knunchuks left and right to keep them off. Sage watched the turtle while he attended to his own pinchers. Sage knew where his power came from. It was his spirit brought forth by his armor, but where did the turtle gather his strength from? Sage couldn't help but wonder where Michelangelo pulled his skills from because among the multitude the turtle fought on, taking his pinchers with him. Sage looked back to his front and swung away at three more pinchers. He needed a break. He raised his sword high for his attack. 

THUNDERBALL…CUT!

The green wave mowed down those pinchers around it like a cleansing shower. Michelangelo watched as the green wall swept out the enemy pinchers. He could see down the passageway. He wondered about his partner, and at the power that his partner was able to evoke almost at will. Which was good. The ninja turtle was on his last legs, he couldn't really hold up much longer. But he'd keep trying. He had to, there was nothing left. All options had been removed from him. Pizza was nowhere in sight. A pincher peeked out of a wall. The rest bit was over; it was time to once again strike back for the others, the others, what was happening to the others?


	7. A Last Effort

A Last Effort

A Last Effort 

MagnaAngemon took his sword and slowly did a very familiar motion.

GATE OF DESTINY!

The gate seemed to tug on Unicron, but it was not big enough to suck him into it. Still Unicron had to focus some of his energies to resist the gate. Magnaangemon prepared to face Unicron, not that he be alone, just that he would give Piccolo the time he needed. Below, Sailor Jupiter looked around for John. The general had seemingly disappeared. She walked around, despite the laser fire that was going on all around her in attempt to find him. Dinobot ignored her search. His next effort was needed. He charged, but laser fire from Unicron's eye kept him jumping. Winston had found a secure spot in the grove and fire at the spot where Sandrock's shorters had bit into the arm. Now, the proton beam slowly added to the cut. Tenchi ran out to shield Dinobot. Magnaangemon swan dived right before Unicron's head. Unicron diverted his attentions to the Ultimate digimon. Magnaangemon made a slight wound before being slightly head butted by Unicron. This chain of events enabled Trowa to quietly move Heavyarms into the buses to Unicron's rear. He and Quatre had their own plan for when Piccolo was ready to rumble.

"You insignificant fools! Don't you know? There's no escape!" yelled an unknown voice down Unicron's corridors. Salamander turned around when fire just short of him caused him to roll to the side, he prepared to face whatever was out there. Charmander turned to find a plane flying over him. Metalgarurumon moved to protect Matt. "I don't know where or who this guy is, but he's in the way," muttered the Mega digimon. Salamander checked his armor; his waterpower was at its max. It was best if he struck now. The plane transformed into a robot that fired his sky guns at them again. "You have yet to face the mighty Starscream!!!!!" Salamander jumped off the walls and full into the robot. The impact was enough to throw the decepticon off his balance and Charmander charged in. A flamethrower consumed around the optics of the decepticon. Matt mounted Metalgarurumon and pointed to the way out. Metalgarurumon nodded. They had to destroy Unicron's core.

Von Moltke stood with Wheeljack. The engineer was busily trying to assess the progress of the battle, but he knew that he could not stay on the sidelines forever. Tenchi and Dinobot were stuck in the middle of the field. Unicron was going to try to smash them with his arm. The tow heat shorters were still prominently stick out. Tenchi wasn't sure he could hold the blow that soon to come.

MAKKANSAPPO!

Piccolo's blast thrust forward. This special beam cannon throttled with unknown power, striking the very arm Unicron was attempting to smash Tenchi and Dinobot with. It ripped into the area Quatre and Winston had weakened. The metal could not resist. The arm was ripped off. Tenchi and Dinobot moved out of the way as it fell. Sandrock rose into the air, catching his heat shorters, ripping them out of the arms. Quatre fired the heat seeking missiles and they sped ahead of him into the monster. Quatre now raised the heat shorters and sliced into Unicron where the missiles had hit. It was a deep cut, one that could be seen inside where Sage and Michelangelo fought of the pinchers. The momentary appearance of the sickles attracted the pinchers. Sage and Michelangelo made a run for it, toward where Salamander and Charmander grappled with Starscream. 

Trowa released his missiles into the back of Unicron. Unicron turned on the lone Gundam. The megalith enemy knew the mobile suit was isolated. There was no one who could stop him this time. Piccolo was recovering from producing the blast. Tenchi and Dinobot were moving for cover. Winston's gun had run out of charge. Sandrock was preparing for its next move. He moved in. And then he stopped and looked at his shoulder. There was a gash there, brand new. Material from it was streaming toward the gate of destiny. He looked for the source, and there was the general, caster still smoking from its last shot. John did not quite know what to do next, but he figured withdrawing was somewhere in there. Deep down he knew it was all up to the guys inside. He jumped down behind the huge rock he had perched on to make that momentous blast. Unicron had had enough. He lunged at Sandrock. Quatre quickly had to back off. Piccolo and Dinobot lunged to interpose themselves between the transformer and the Gundam. They were slashed back with a sling off a hand into the trees. Winston moved off to find out if they were okay. Tenchi, Sailor Jupiter, and Wheeljack moved next to stop Unicron. Sandrock was knocked into the ground. Trowa tried to distract the monster with a heavy bombardment of bullets. His Gundam was knocked down by a kick. MagnaAngemon moved the Gate of Destiny to shield Trowa's suit. Wheeljack fell beside Dinobot. Tenchi landed in the trees. Sailor Jupiter also landed in the bushes. MagnaAngemon shifted the gate to block Unicron from the recovering allies. Churchill hurried over. At times like this you had to stand tall.****


	8. The Power of Friendship

The Power of Friendship

The Power of Friendship 

Matt was feeling futility creep over him. He had yet to find the core processor. The brain. Where was it? Matt slung a punch into the metal plating of Unicron's head. He withdrew his hand; it was pulsing with pain. Metalgarurumon looked at his old friend. "Matt, it won't help anything. We'll find the core processor. Don't worry. Piccolo and the others will be fine. What will you think about yourself tomorrow?" Matt listened, but he was also thinking. Metalgarurumon realized Matt was in thought, but he continued anyway, "Do you think Dinobot would give up at a time like this?" No, Matt thought, Dinobot wouldn't, _he'd succeed or he'd go out with honor._ It wasn't time to quit yet. His eyes noticed something on the metal insides of Unicron's skull.

Dinobot lurched up. It was somewhat painful to do so, but he wasn't in stasis lock, so something must be working. To his left was Wheeljack, scratched and scarred, but he too was functional. It was strange, Dinobot thought, to be fighting with such an ally. An Autobot, a key player in their victory in the Great War. A victory over his ancestors, the Decepticons. A player who never lived to see that final victory. Dinobot knew that in the blitz of Autobot City, Wheeljack was one of the casualties. He would never have seen Unicron or participated in his defeat. He, Dinobot, was too late for Unicron, his spark coming on line centuries later. So they both were facing an enemy neither of them knew. Where had these enemies come from? No time storms had occurred when Megatron was destroyed or any of the others, but there was no telling what would happen if Wheeljack was told how he died. An experienced warrior and engineer could have defeated the decepticon blitz on his own with accurate knowledge of the city's defenses. Dinobot shook his head. No, he wouldn't say a word. It wouldn't actually change much except that instead of him being a Predacon, he would not exist at all. To his left was the Namek, Piccolo, regenerating a leg. Piccolo looked at the Maximal. "You know, I think he's got the hang of us. We don't have much time." "Then we will stand with honor. We will go out fighting," replied Dinobot. Piccolo smiled briefly, "We'll go out one piece and together. Nothing can stand against all of us, nothing in the world. We'll do this, and that is that."

Dinobot was a little unsteady now. Before it had been easy. He was a warrior; he joined the battle. He would thrash the enemy. He had to survive. But now? Dinobot could sense the battle drawing close to its conclusion. Either Matt and the others would destroy the core of Unicron or they would all be annihilated. But what would happen next? A return to the Maximals? Or was he already "dead"? He glanced back at Wheeljack. Where would Wheeljack go? Or Unicron? Would history be altered afterward in some undeterminable way? Or was he stuck here on this famous battlefield in an unknown plain? Dinobot needed answers. He looked for someone who could provide them. Piccolo? No, Piccolo would not know. T.k.? The boy was too young. Von Moltke? The right hand seemed just as much at sea as everyone else. The girl? No, Dinobot did not particularly trust females. The general, he would have some idea of what everything meant. BEAST MODE! Dinobot became the sleek Velociraptor that had frozen Trowa in a time that seemed so long ago. He ran toward the rock where he could see the general reloading his weird weapon. His sprint was noted by MagnaAngemon, who didn't think too much on it. The Ultimate digimon turned around. Piccolo and the others had entrenched. They were tired, and needed the respite. Pushed against the wall, it did not look good at that particular moment.

"I just don't trust him," muttered Ami aloud. Spiderman looked over at the sailor scout. Whom did she mean? They were somewhat safe far from the battle with Unicron. No one else seemed to be saying anything. They just sat in a circle. Hornblower, Hawkeye, Dumars, Walker, Stiles, Hoover, and Kerensky all just sort of looking into space. Seahorse paced nervously, sorry that he had chosen to stay and guard the group rather than join Salamander in the fight. He too heard Ami's comment. "He" could be anyone, Piccolo, Dinobot, Charmander, and Von Moltke, even the general. Seahorse decided to find out who it was. "Who can't you trust?" he asked Ami. She looked down at the small soldier. "It's Dinobot. There's something evil about him. He's too brutal. And his teeth! I just know he's planning to do something awful to us." Hornblower could not see what she was saying; of course Hornblower had never really served with Dinobot. The raptor was a little indignant when he had taken control of things when the general went down. Maybe, there was more to him than met the eye. Hoover hadn't really cared for Dinobot since the beginning when the raptor entered the CR chamber. He'd seen Jurassic Park too many times to trust raptors. Hawkeye knew that Dinobot had introduced himself as a warrior. A warrior could not exist without war, without the killing that is so imbedded in it. Hawkeye hated the killing. Above else it was the killing. Walker and Dumars could not worry about this. They shrugged their shoulders and went on. Yet, this sentiment was dangerous.

Piccolo looked over the trench. It was a transverse trench, based on picture he had found in the base. But it was not the trench that bothered him; it was what the trench symbolized. A last stand. Last ditch, literally. He had never faced an opponent like this one. They had given everything they had and still he was beating them back. Got to keep things up. He knew T.K. was looking at him. He just knew it. A familiar role. He had to be a pillar of strength for others to lean on. He cracked his knuckles. That was fine. He had done so before, he could do so again. Nappa, Freeza, Garlic Jr., Cell, all had seen his power, not necessarily his fighting strength but his presence. His advantage over the field was mental. It was difficult to keep up with the Saiyans. He smiled slightly; Gohan was unstoppable now. He looked down the line. That gate was keeping Unicron from moving too quickly. Heavyarms and Sandrock were in the trench now. Wheeljack had pulled out a laser and was just peaking out from the trench. Above was MagnaAngemon; the true guardian of T.K. Piccolo wondered how things on the inside were going. Matt could be trusted to get it done. Him and his beast. Friendship, Piccolo thought, how defining. All of them, together, working as one to defeat Unicron. As much as it appeared otherwise, Piccolo knew in that moment it would end in their favor. How could they really be defeated? They would win, if only because their cause had a we and not an I.

Dinobot had made it over to the general, who was in the process of withdrawing to the trench. "Dinobot, what is it? Why aren't you back there with the others?" "I must know. From where did I come?" John wavered. It would be hard to explain to Dinobot that. "Have I already died?" This one stung John too. Dinobot sure didn't give you a chance to think. Do you remember a fiery valley where you preserved the anthropoids?" "Yes." "And beat Megatron with an axe?" "Yes." "Then you have died." Dinobot was satisfied. In this realm at least, he could fight another day. "And Wheeljack?" "Yes, he's gone too." Dinobot did not worry anymore. This was a strange world where past and present come alive. He and the general jumped into the trench. "Ok, guys, it's time to show Unicron what we've got. We'll fire at once right into his front. Then we'll settle and hold him off till the task force succeeds. No one quits, everybody moves, got it! Good. If we can get this shot off then we might just have a ticket home.

"Understood," Trowa.

"We don't have much left, but we have to do this," Quatre.

"Here it goes!" von Moltke.

"We'll fight on to the bitter end!" Dinobot.

"Sometimes I wonder how I get in these things," Wheeljack.

"Go knock down that bully!" T.K.

"He will not leave this battlefield," MagnaAngemon.

"My last shot, guess he gets it," Winston.

"Busy day," Tenchi.

"One more time," Sailor Jupiter.

"As long as we're still here there's always a chance. Let him eat things for awhile," Piccolo.

DINOBOT MAXIMIZE!

Matt knew the eye laser source most be connected to the main frame. But was it enough to send an impulse down the sensor pipe, or was something more required? He wished Izzy were there. Izzy would have some idea. He had no idea at all. It gnawed at him. He was their last chance; he could not fail, not now. Metalgarurumon could feel the tension in the air; he could cut it with his claw. His snout knew that something had to be done. He didn't want to act on his own; it was not his style. He and Matt were a team. A team within a team. "Matt what should we do?" "Do?" Something snapped. Matt was tired of being logical and rational. It was getting him and his friends nowhere. "Metalgarurumon, let him have it." Metalgarurumon charged up a blast.

METAL WOLF CLAW!

The blast ate into the sensor, they'd know in a few seconds if it…

Sage and Michelangelo saw Starscream and the two little guys trying to fight him. Sage rushed in and got a flying leap and kicked Starscream in the head. Michelangelo was with him, striking the knee. Starscream jerked back. "You idiots, you'll pay for that one!" He fired at them. A couple of flips and they got away. Starscream charged toward Sage, but he felt a metal claw in his arm. Salamander had made his move. A flame burned into the cut as Charmander made his. Sage stepped out of the way, and grabbing his sword, rushed into Starscream's side. The enemy robot flew back, only to feel a bang on his shoulder as Michelangelo chopped full force down. Starscream fell back and transformed. In his plane form he would not be so easy to stop. Sage braced himself, as did Michelangelo and the others. This insane robot would not stop even though he had no purpose there whatsoever. 

Churchill loaded the caster one more time. Their blast had to come now. He looked down the trench, raised his gun, and yelled, "NOW!"

MAKONO!

"Eat THIS!" Heavyarms laid down a directed barrage.

"I'm with you Trowa," Sandrock pulled out the submachine gun and joined in.

"OAK EVOLUTION"

"HIYA!" A curved blade ran from Tenchi's sword at Unicron.

"One more TIME!" The proton gun fired with precision accuracy.

"HERE!" The eye laser from Dinobot fired.

"How bout a grenade?" Wheeljack raised his grenade launcher and fired all the rounds.

The caster fired, the final shot from the trench, simultaneously the combined blast headed toward Unicron. MagnaAngemon followed up the shot and dug in his sword. Unicron reeled backward, and tripped over his own feet. His colossal body fell slowly, effortlessly. With his feet on Big Round Top, his head was on Oak Ridge. Miles of him, literally. Piccolo could not believe it. They had tripped up the robot. Yet he was still operational and well defended. It was probably best for them to remain in the trench…

Sage got up slowly and peered around. He ached all over, but he had no real memory of what happened. Michelangelo seemed to be unconscious. Salamander was trying to get up. They all had been thrown against the wall. Charmander too, was senseless. Their recent antagonist had also been highly damaged. Sparks appeared in several places and his bruises were quite visible. There was telling what had happened really. But what had seemed to be a wall before was now the floor for some reason. Sage went to Michelangelo and shook him. Salamander had put Charmander on his back. The turtle very slowly and very groggily opened his eyes. "What happened?" in pain Michelangelo spoke slowly. "I'm not quite sure. It seems this monster was tipped over. Maybe the guys on the outside did it. We just got caught by surprise, I think. Well, he's not moving anyway." Sage pointed to the motionless Starscream. End it soon, he prayed. We can't take much more. Then a dreadful sound was heard and the pinchers moved into the chamber. Sage had no energy to fight them. He would have to rely on his armor and whatever Matt could pull off.

Matt looked down the long gash that had been Unicron's left eye laser. Down in the dark he could see something red and radiating. It wasn't the acid pit he had seen before. Instead it looked like a hundred radiating television screens. It must be the processor. Matt rejoiced silently. He could end it all, but he felt so weak… No he couldn't lose consciousness now, he and Metalgarurumon had to secure victory… Come on Matt! You can't give in now. Think of all the people you're doing this for, think of your friends. Think of T.K., Piccolo, Dinobot, Trowa, anybody, just don't give in just yet. "Metal-garurumon, Send a barrage of missiles down this hole at that television thing..." Metalgarurumon heard the weakness in Matt's voice. His freezing missiles came out and zoomed down the corridor. The missiles struck the core processor and began to freeze it. Unicron felt as his systems went off line one by one. He ceased to function as a forced stasis lock stopped his entire body. Sage watched as the pinchers fell useless around him. He was relieved. He sat down next to a recovering Michelangelo. He patted the turtle's back. They might make it after all. _We are the boys no man dare dun._ Matt would have liked to hear those words but he was to busy trying give Metalgarurumon his last instructions, "Good, job… Give him a Giga…" Matt collapsed. As he was leaning to peer down the hole anyway, he was not hurt. As he lay on his stomach his crest burst into action. The blue glow let up Unicron's cranium. Outside, Piccolo and Dinobot (beast mode) scouted out the seemingly motionless Unicron. Piccolo saw the gentle blue light coming out of Unicron's eyes and he knew. He turned to Dinobot. "Let's get out of here,"

"Is something wrong?" asked the raptor. "No, something's very right," replied Piccolo.

Sage had no choice; he had to get them out of there. With Unicron off line, it might be possible to break through the outer skin. He gathered his energy within his armor, raised his sword, it was time for one more. THUNDERBALL CUT! The metal that ate the green wave broke open a doorway. Sage helped Michelangelo while Salamander was still giving a piggyback ride to Charmander. The blast startled Piccolo and Dinobot, who weren't expecting to have to do anything but get to the trench. They quickly moved to help Sage. Dinobot lowered himself so that Salamander and Charmander could ride him back. Piccolo grabbed a hold of Sage and Michelangelo and flew back to the trench. Laying Sage and Michelangelo and Sage in the trench, Piccolo proceeded to talk to John. "General, I'd like to go back and make sure Matt's okay. Is this okay with you?" "Piccolo, it's your decision, be careful, I don't know how big a blast we might have," John replied. Piccolo nodded and flew off to find Matt. Dinobot walked over to the general. "Why'd you let him go?" Churchill looked at the raptor. "What else could I do?" Dinobot thought on it a moment. He nodded and turned to see how this would all turn out. Piccolo bulleted through the sky.


	9. The Things Legends Are Made Of

The Things Legends Are Made Of

The Things Legends Are Made Of 

Metalgarurumon tried to piece together Matt's last comment. The energy from the crest had strengthened him extremely. He bubbled over with power. Giga. It had been Matt's last word, last phrase. Metalgarurumon thought on the term. His armament was astonishing. There were many many weapons systems. Giga. Giga-what. He knew there was nothing he could for Matt now except destroy the processor. At its speed, the ice would melt soon, perhaps in minutes. He had to figure out what Giga meant. He thought back to the Piedmon battle. Giga MISSILE. Now he remembered. He aimed his stomach where the opening to the processor was.

GIGA MISSILE!

The missile appeared and flew through the opening toward the frozen processor. Metalgarurumon nudged Matt and tried to get him on his back. He was having no luck when a green form swept in through the hole in the eye. Piccolo! "Is he okay?" asked the Namek. "He's just knocked out." "We'll have to move fast, the missile is on its way." "I'll get him, let's get out of here," answered Piccolo. The missile had penetrated the target, it went in further and further until it found the center, it detonated taking the entire core processor with it. A shock wave was heard in the distance. Piccolo fired out of the head, followed by Metalgarurumon. The two flew faster and faster, the fire of the blast just behind them. They dove for the trench were everyone else ducked to avoid the fire. The Gate of Destiny swallowed the entire blast and all the tiny fragments of Unicron's body. The overload of material caused an interesting reaction. The gate disintegrated and behind it, more gates, somewhere around ten opened. The homebound route. In the trench, the occupants saw the glistening gates, all to different worlds and they were all relieved.

The blast left its presence everywhere. The ground shook. Hornblower could feel it shaking, and then he realized what it all meant. "They did it!" It was over; the hardest day of his life was now over. Never had he had to stay out of something for so long because he could not really help. "Party at Robert's!" Hoover grinned, hoping to set off Kerensky. It worked. Kerensky seethed for a moment and then a large smile came across is face. "I'm not seeing what we're still doing around here. Let's go to the gates. Come on!" Joe seemed insistent. The group walked. To get to Round Top, it would quite a little hike. Walker, Seahorse, Hornblower, and Dumars were in front. The rest followed. Ryan shook his head, no improv here. This was the real thing. Back to Who's Line, it was. The experience had been fascinating, but Ryan really hadn't played much of a part. Then he realized, someone was telling him to sit down for once. Herschel too had needed a time as a staffer. He now knew there was more to life than football, although it wasn't much more. Dumars hadn't needed to humble himself, but his example was good enough for all to follow. Hawkeye had been in the hospital too long; he had forgot what it was like to fight for someone. To have a Cause. _A soldier who fights only for the other soldiers will always be defeated. _Robert and Billy, conservatives both, now understood the meaning of social leadership. That's what Hornblower grasped too; _to say that Leon Churchill was in command was an error. They had all been in command, from the very start. _They were close now, very close. The gates shown brightly they were here. It was time.

Salamander got up. It seemed that MagnaAngemon had been busy again. Sage and Michelangelo were fine too. Charmander was up and running around as well. Salamander wanted to make sure he wasn't dreaming; he had not felt so safe in a long time. Seahorse was coming, he could tell. Then he saw him, his comrade in arms ran up to him. They embraced. The two warriors had wondered if they would have to return to their struggle back home alone without the other. Gabumon was a little choked up by the moment. The armadillo and the crustacean. He felt a thud on his back. Matt looked down and smiled. Gabumon stared into his partner's eyes and knew they were of the same mind. Hornblower walked up and shook Winston's hand. "Well, Mr. Zeddmore, it's over." "Yeah, Commodore, I guess it is." Much had happened since that silly charge against the Saibamen. Tenchi stood nearby watching them. He too, had been part of that initial group. They were friends now, and when he left, Winston and Hornblower would still be with him. Piccolo stood away from the group. It just wasn't his style to be a groupie. His training clothes flowed in the gentle breeze once again, his arms crossed. He felt a pat on his shoulder; it was Ryan. "No hard feelings, all right?" Stiles held out his hand. Piccolo looked at it for a minute and then shook it. Ryan felt jabs of pain. Piccolo merely grinned. Ryan withdrew his hand carefully, massaging it. Nope, he had never figured out Mr. Green Guy.


	10. All the Way Home

All The Way Home…

All The Way Home… 

Von Moltke was eager to get back. But there was some minor trouble brewing. Dinobot walked around contemplating his next move. He had no world of his own to go back to. He was a figure of the past with no present. As was Wheeljack. He also knew he was being watched, but he couldn't figure who or why. While the others conversed, or paced or did what ever else they were doing, Churchill, T.K., MagnaAngemon, and Wheeljack were determining which portal was whose. One was a sailing ship before ironclads and steamships became popular. Another led to Kami's Lookout. A third to war torn Korea. A fourth was the real world in 2001. And so on, and so on. Their research complete, the quartet returned to gather everyone to their own world. Hawkeye left first, waving as he returned to the 4077. The gate closed behind him. Hornblower left for his command next. A British naval salute was the last they saw of the Commodore. Tenchi walked over and made sure he shook everyone's hand. With a smile on his face he went back to the Musaki shrine where sounds of a catfight could already be heard. Sage's Ronin armor faded away. Before the gate to his world, he nodded and disappeared. Winston went back to the firehouse and the life he knew so well. Spiderman slung his web into the gate and waved as he swung out of their lives. Charmander waddled into his gate. He went back to being a pokemon. Salamander and Seahorse saluted as they left for their continual struggle. Perhaps Quatre and Trowa had rubbed off on them somehow.

Quatre and Trowa were trying to figure out some stuff on their own. They knew the conflict on their Earth had ended, or else Quatre would not have recognized Heavyarms Custom. So how did their original Gundams get here? They would have to leave the Neo-Gundams here. Quatre looked up at dear old Sandrock. He could not believe he was saying good-bye again. He wiped a tear from his eye and turned away. His sisters were waiting for him, and the former Maganac Corps. Trowa too, knew that he was needed back home. The two walked toward the rest of group where more tearful farewells between partners were going. Matt and Gabumon, T.K. and Patamon, were sharing a last moment together, for now. It had been decided that the digimon would go back to the digiworld and the brothers would go back to the "real" world. Meanwhile Dinobot still had to make considerations. Where he had come from, he was no longer in existence. But, in another world perhaps, he might still live. He looked at the Autobot engineer. He too, might survive in another realm. Dinobot struggled with the idea. There was only one world where he would feel somewhat at ease. He would go with the general if the general would have him, he and Wheeljack. There they could continue their stunted lives. He decided to ask about it. When he turned to find Churchill, he found the general consoling someone who could not go back with him and was not real happy about it.

Piccolo walked up to the two digimon and their partners. Matt got up to greet him. T.K. and Patamon were having a hard time saying good-bye. Piccolo looked at Matt and said in his usual calm deep voice, "You did good kid. You and Gohan are so like each other in some ways, but your differences are complimentary to your persons. Don't let T.K. get into trouble if you can." Matt just nodded. He knew little of Gohan, but he hoped one day he would meet him. Piccolo turned to Gabumon, "And you, take care. You are a credit to your species." Gabumon raised a paw to shake Piccolo's hand. Piccolo took it and nodded. Matt and Gabumon went their separate ways after one more hug. The move encouraged T.K. and Patamon to recover. T.K. looked up at the Super-Namek, a person he would not quite forget. "Piccolo, someday could you train Patamon and me like you did Gohan?" Piccolo gave a little smile. He merely nodded and that was enough to get T.K. and Patamon race into their respective worlds. Piccolo watched the doors close. He knew he would forget none of them. He still remembered his surprise when Angemon had hit the Taurus column and pretty much shattered it. He had to speak to the general one last time.

Churchill had other difficulties. His first problem was Lita. He had given his heart to her, and now she was going to have to leave him. He knew that despite whatever she had intended to do she would leave. The chances of him ever seeing her again seemed slim at best. His experience with her had been enlightening. He was JWC, the secret weapon, and heir to the Rock of Chickamauga, Old Pap Thomas. In that moment he remembered where he was and who was crying softly in his arms. Her last attempt to be brave had failed. "Is there no other way?" she whispered, the tears in her eyes only reflected by the sound of her voice. "No, you and I both know there isn't. But something got us both here, something could easily bring us together again." Lita smiled briefly, her head resting on his shoulder. She started to pull herself away, but when her head was once again level with his, their eyes met and they both seemed attracted to one final kiss. It was long. It was never enough but in that same sense it was always too much. Billy and Robert kinda stared. David smiled as though he had previous experience. Piccolo and Dinobot diverted their gazes. The rest of the crew remaining sort of cheered. They were ignored. When it was over, no good-byes passed between the two. Lita just kinda made her way walking backwards to her world. Ami followed her hurrying away from Dinobot. And then she was gone. JWC held his head down for a minute when David came over and put an arm around him. "You'll see her again. You haven't lost her yet."

Piccolo now turned to the general. "You pulled it off. Now, I must go. Take care on your world." The Namek left for the lookout. Michelangelo left also with a wave for the sewers. There were just a couple of groups left. Dinobot and Wheeljack were there as were all the people from JWC's own time and place. Dinobot had to act quickly. "General!" "Dinobot, can you call me JWC?" "How do you get JWC out of Leon Churchill?" asked the confused raptor. "Never mind, what's on your mind?" continued the general. "According to facts, if I go back to my own time, I will simply disappear," spoke the raptor. "Yes, as will Wheeljack. What are you suggesting?" queried JWC anxiously. "Could we come with you?" "To my world? You would kind of stick out. I could hide Wheeljack pretty easily, but you? I don't know." Dinobot looked at the general with a neutral stare. "All right, we'll do it, but you've got to be careful." Dinobot nodded in relief. Finally the last line of heroes went into the final gate home. Dumars, the last to leave, looked around one last time. The sun was setting behind the Gundams. It was quite a sight. Then Dumars went through the gate and it closed behind them. A world of bombardment had been shut off, perhaps for forever.

Deep in space in the middle of a galaxy, the Vok observed the end of their experiment. One turned to the other, "It is done."

"Yes, all went as I predicted, but what now?"

"Now? You mean with the two transformers going to a world that is not theirs?"

"It is a threat to be sure. Perhaps we should act on it."

"Not now, with this test complete, I doubt they will continue to follow the anthropoid's lead."

"Very well, then. Some other time."


	11. Epilogue

Epilogue (And That's The Way It Should End)

**Epilogue (And That's The Way It Should End)**

** **

Matt passed through the gap to his own world. T.k. had beaten him back barely. There he found Izzy and Joe. Both were wearing odd expressions that seemed to have nothing to do with his sudden and unexpected arrival. Matt felt funny for a minute. Nothing passed between the group for a while. Then Joe motioned toward the trees as if he intended to head in that direction. Matt sensed they had nothing to say to T.K. and even that they wanted T.K. not to hear. But there was no way to get T.K. away nicely. Then Tai appeared. Joe and Izzy seemed a bit panicky. "T.K., why don't you go talk to Tai? We'll be right back," Matt encouraged his brother. T.K. went off and greeted Tai.

Joe spoke first, "Matt, we have to talk. Some weird things have been going on since you left." Matt nodded. A multi-world disturbance would certainly have effects all across the plane. "What about my parents? Are they okay? Are they worried stiff?" asked a concerned Matt. "No, they think you are all at my place," answered Joe. Old Reliable Joe. Izzy walked up and shook Matt's hand. "I have to congratulate you on successfully coming out of that other world, it was prodigious." "Well, you sent von Moltke. Remember that. And we got that Gundam working. We owe you Izzy," answered Matt. Izzy was flushed for a moment, "Aw, shucks." "Enough, Matt, we didn't come to talk about your battle which Izzy told me bits and pieces of. We're here because you've been missing for some three or four days. And in that time someone has been worried sick that you'd get back okay. And I'm not referring to me because I've got enough to worry about to worry about you and some fifty-foot high mobile suit," Joe lectured. Matt smiled at Joe's familiar manner but looked at Izzy, who seemed to be going to speak next.

Izzy looked up at Matt, his friend was expectant. "Well Matt, Joe knows the story better than I but the answer's Sora." Joe nodded. Matt was blank for a moment, not sure how to take the news. Joe didn't wait to see how Matt was finally going to respond. "It's true Matt. When you didn't appear at the weekly group meeting, she called your dad. He said you were with me; she called here. I had to give her what little information I had from Izzy. Now she's bombarded Izzy's phone and mine with calls asking if you got back. I've heard that she's taking your disappearance pretty hard." Matt thought on it. "Thanks, guys, I'll be on the lookout. But I need to get T.K. home." "Why spending the night at my place?" offered Joe, "You're supposed to be there anyway." "All right Joe, I'll get T.K." Matt found T.K. and Tai. The sun set, and the stars came out. The five of them walked toward Joe's house. Sora, Matt thought, who'd have thought? T.K. looked into the heavens. Where Orion should have been was instead a Namek. T.K. looked at this constellation and smiled.

Dende turned around to find Piccolo there. It had been the first time in a while that Dende had seen the Namek who had fused with his brother Nail. Mr. Popo came out too. "Piccolo, where did you go?" The Super-Namek looked at the genie and said, "I had business to take care of." He stalked off toward the edge of the lookout; below him down there was the Earth. His planet. Somewhere Gohan was just finding out his mother was pregnant. Somewhere Krillin was trying to open his feelings to Android 18. Not on the Earth, but in some other realm, Goku was keeping King Kai busy or training if he was ever called on again. Piccolo crossed his legs. Yes, it was good to be back. Everyone, everything was all right now. Dende watched the Super-Namek. He knew Piccolo must have a lot to think about, but he would not bother him.

A furious wind whipped across the sand. There was a vast ocean beyond. It met the land, and yet less than a mile later it struck the waters of the sound. Nags Head, they call it, where a pirate attracted ships to plunder by leading around a horse with a lantern on its head. Then it was just a sandbar of a barrier island, now the commercial growth was quite visible. Hotels were now present. At one, a strange car was parked just off Route 12. Take Route 12 north and you'll find Kitty Hawk, where aviation was born. South you'll pass Jockey's Ridge. A little further and you will find Cape Hatteras with its famed lighthouse. Of course you'll need the ferry. These are the Outer Banks. At Nags Head, the waves hit against the beach in rhythm. A visitor from Baltimore looked his paper. Scientists had picked up an alligator skeleton. Imbeded in the neck bones were the teeth marks of a strange animal. Scientists were highly puzzled when the only match found were those of the extinct velociraptor. The man remembered hearing strange cries lately, cries no one could identify. He looked over his paper and saw a single person on the beach.

He wore no general's uniform, but it was hard to doubt who he was. The wind flew through his light brown hair. Home at last, but he had to make this final stop. The lights of ships at sea were the only things that were noticeable other than the stars above. The trial was over. Now before him was the Atlantic Ocean. It was as far east as he could go without crossing the watery road that lay ahead. Life was still to be lived. He had to figure out what he was going to do. A new challenge. A new path out of the many. Was it chemistry, history, astronomy, or political science that called him? Was it military? A brilliant object shown in the sky, too brilliant to be a star. He watched it for a moment, breathing the air around him. It was the sweet air of the South. Another time another war. He could see the batteries as they would have been and the Yankee fleet in the ocean. He turned to walk back to his room. The mist was full of memories. As he thought on a new and exciting future he remembered the words of Tigertron. "Let the trails lead where they may, I will follow."____


End file.
